by Rue Volley
He spun around.
“I...well… Wow about lemon whatchamacallit?” I said. He grinned.
“Wine?” he asked.
“Nooo, listen, water’s fine,” I said.
“I swear I thought I heard wine,” he said, as he held the bottle in his hand.
I looked down at my hands.
“No, you did not,” I said. Johnathan pulled a glass out and poured some for himself, he grabbed water for me.
“Okay, your loss birthday girl,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh Jeezus who told you that?” I said.
“Well Sophie told me... Why do you think everyone's here?” he added with a laugh.
“Nooo… not for me.” I said as I bit my lip.
“Well, that was the point but honestly I think it got lost somewhere along the way but I know it's your birthday.”
He came over setting the glasses down on the table and leaned in, too close to my face and said, “Happy birthday Rue Volley,” in a whisper.
He hovered there; for what seemed like an eternity, and I had way too many thoughts about his mouth being too close to mine. Vibration again...
“Well, ” I said... turning my head, “Thanks for the water.”
Really...? ‘Thanks for the water’ is all you could come up with Rue? How about I think you are so hot I could just...
He sat down, with a crooked smile on his face.
“I like you, Rue. You’re not like any girls I know.”
“Well, thank you… I guess?” I said as I lifted the glass to my mouth.
“No, it’s not a bad thing... you just… I never know what you’re going to say. You’re not predictable and I like that,” he said.
“Well Johnathan, we really have never talked that much, you've been at Barrington for two years now.”
“Oh yes, where all the good boys go...” he grinned. “Well, I won't be going back there, I’ll be here, to finish my junior year... senior too, if I have anything to say about it.”
“You’re home for good then?” I said as I looked at his face, it was as pretty as I remembered.
He drank the rest of his wine, in one gulp. “Why Rue? Does that make you happy?” he asked me.
I said nothing, just looked down. He cleared his throat and continued to talk.
“Yea, for good I think. Mom is pissed but I just don't… I won't stay there anymore,” he said as he placed his glass on the table, staring at it.
“Did something happen?” I asked.
He smirked and said, “Well I kinda made them think I was crazy.”
“What do you mean... crazy?” I said, as I raised my eyebrows.
“Well.” He stood up. “I ran through the hallways naked.”
“You did what?”
“N-a-k-e-d.” He spelled it out to make his point.
“Oh… Naked, you had nothing on?”
He smiled. “Well, I had a book.”
I grinned. “Just a book?”
“Well… it was a big book.” He paused, with a confused look on his face. “Nothing to say, huh?”
I looked at him for a moment and thought about his clothes coming off and my palms got sweaty.
“I got nothin’,” I said.
“See what I mean… interesting,” he said as he leaned toward me. I stood up.
“We should get back.” I said.
He smiled and said, “Yea sure, if that's what you want.”
I grabbed my bag, and headed for the door. We headed down the hallway and he walked by me this time. I looked over and he was looking at me. I looked back down and then we came out into the living room.
***
“And they say that Caine was buried in the chapel”
What the shit.
There Sara was, standing in the middle of the room arms flailing, eyes wide, weaving her half-ass version of my story. I could just sink into the floor... I could.
“Oh bullshit Sara. Where the hell did you come up with that?” Sophie said, obviously not amused.
Sara, trying to save herself, “Well Rue told me when we were...”
Oh shit Sara... thanks a lot I thought to myself. A female voice came from behind all of us.
“Oh really?”
Everyone turned around to see none other than Elie Graph, walking into the room. I wanted to crawl under the biggest rock in the biggest ocean on any planet but this one. Pluto, yeah Pluto. Didn’t they just decide that wasn't even a planet anymore? No one would ever look there.
“Rue Volley.” I looked at her expecting very bad things.
“Mrs. Graph... I am sooo sorry… I didn't mean anything...” I said, with a stammer in my voice.
“No. You can finish the story now,” Elie said as she stared at me.
I scanned the room for superman, but he wasn't there...shit.
“There's nothing else I can tell you,” I said low.
“No please you command floor now, so please... I am sure your ending will just thrill us all,” Elie said.
Then it happened, I opened my mouth, and the whole thing just fell out of me. I couldn't stop… I don't know if it was nerves, or just the fact that I didn't like her telling me what to do. When I finished you could have heard crickets, and I just knew I was in deep.
“Oh well, how lovely!” Elie walked past me, and Johnathan was looking at her.
“So... let’s see... Where would you have heard such a thing?” She took about ten steps away from me, and then spun around; she had every intention to stab every word she was about spew, into my heart.
“You may have made it up… No. No. Or maybe, you got it from Grace.”
She dramatically gave me a moment to swallow that one.
“You know, Rue… your mother had such a vivid imagination when we were children. Well, still does now doesn't she?” Elie asked me. I looked around the room and started feeling like I was trapped.
“I... I… don't know what you mean,” I said as I fidgeted with my hands.
“Yes you do... we all do. She spends all her time in that fantasy world she created now doesn't she?”
I stepped forward, thinking maybe I could get just one good hit in on her, when Johnathan stepped in between us.
“That's enough Mother,” he said to her.
“Not nearly” Elie said as she stared at me.
Johnathan interrupted her, “No it is Rue did exactly what you wanted...”
Elie turned away from him and said, “I think everyone can go now.”
“Fine,” Johnathan said to her.
Johnathan turned around to me, but I was so mortified that I was staring at the floor, with my fists clenched. He reached out and grabbed my hand. All I felt was shot of energy shoot up my arm and everything went white.
I was standing in a field of knee high grass. The wind was blowing just hard enough to whip it back and forth, causing it to look more like a green ocean. I closed my eyes and smelled the grass... my favorite in the summer. I heard a whispering to my left and turned to see my mother looking at me, so pretty in her white dress, hair down. I reached out to her and she started to move away. I called out to her, “Mom! Wait”....
I kept trying to catch up with her, but she moved away in moments. She moved over the hill before me. I ran to the top and I looked down the hillside, she was standing with my Dad at the bottom.
I called out to him, “Dad! Oh my god...Mom’s okay.”
As I got closer I saw him handing her something. She rolled it over in her hand, with a smile on her face. She lifted it and she put it over her head. She fell, disappearing into the tall grass. I screamed calling out to her. The man turned around to me and smiled... I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Hello, Rue Volley.”
It was Caine.
***
“Rue Volley... Rue Volley… Rue…”
I blinked a few times, realizing I was lying on the floor. Things started to come in to focus and Johnathan’s face started forming in front of me.
<
br /> “Rue?” he asked with the most concerned look on his face.
“RUE. Are you okay?” He said a little louder.
I pushed myself up on my elbows and said, “Yeah…” clearing my throat in the process.
“What happ...” I started to say.
Just at that moment, Sara and Kai swooped in, almost knocking Johnathan over.
“OMG girl! You okay?” Sara said to me.
“Yea... Sara… yea I'm okay. Let’s just go?” I said as I blinked a few times.
“Sure girlie, here.”
Sara started pulling me up off the floor and Kai said. “Shit, Rue,” under his breath.
As the three of us were heading down the path away from the house, I looked back and saw Johnathan standing in the doorway. I turned back around, not thinking of one thing I could say at the moment that would even come close to ‘right’. All that came to mind was that Johnathan looked like he did as a little boy staring at that huge painting in the library. Just overwhelmed.
***
I actually woke up in my bed. This is new. See I usually start here and end up on the couch, in the tub or on the floor. Sleepwalking sucks. My parents still had a baby gate on the stairs to save me from falling down them. We left it up, after Mom left... well, I did. Trying to save myself I guess.
Then I remembered. Then I started to remember more. I had some fixing to do, for sure. I looked around and then noticed Kai leaning in my doorway, arms crossed. I kinda propped myself up, and said, “Hey.” My voice cracked.
“Hey back,” Kai said to me. He came over and sat down on the edge of my bed.
I was expecting the ‘why did you tell Sara that stupid story’ talk.
“So…” he said.
“Listen, Kai... I really had no idea that Sara was gonna...”
He looked up at me.
“Don't care about that,” he said as he looked at me.
“Really?” I said, thinking he was about to yell or something.
“Yeah really Rue.”
“What then?” I asked him.
He started fiddling with his hands and I realized that the ‘hand fiddling’ was a Volley trait.
“None of that shit mattered to me, all I could think about was you,” he said.
“Well, I'm good, really. Look I woke up in my bed... Good right?” I tried to smile.
He looked at me and said, “Yea… that's great, Rue. What happened, when Johnathan took your hand last night?”
I shrugged my shoulders and gave him the ‘I don't know’ look.
“Well... I felt something Rue,” he said as he looked at me.
I thought, oh shit, felt what?
“Well I don't know what that would have been, really,” I said as I looked down.
“It was a vibration. Wanna come straight with me?” he said as he leaned in toward me.
“Look Kai I don't know what you ‘felt’ but I fainted, probably just freaked out. I… I wasn't exactly in the best situation. You know people have adrenaline rushes... maybe…”
He stood up and walked over to the door. He turned around and gave me a smile.
“Yea... yea that's true. I don't know just thought... I don't know what I thought… Just crazy. Never mind.”
Then he said, “Well get up! I made breakfast for us.”
“Ummm, oh okay… Just give me a minute.” I said as I started to move my legs under the sheet.
“Cool see ya downstairs,” he said
He walked out of the room and I sat for a moment thinking, a vibration? WTF. I couldn't help feeling like I dodged a bullet. Why would Kai have felt a vibration? Why did I?
***
“William Volley. Room 314.”
“Oh Mr. Volley! Dr. Adler is up in your wife’s room. We were about to call you,” the nurse said as she stood up behind her desk.
William leaned forward and gripped the counter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her. She smiled at him and shook her head.
“No… no Mr. Volley, well, just go on up,” she pointed to the elevator.
William walked quickly to the elevator entering the code assigned to him, put in place to avoid ‘escape’ by its tenants there at R & R. As he exited on third floor he scanned the hallway, it was empty as usual. He started inching his way towards 314, the closer he got; he realized he was hearing music. He peeked around the doorway to see Dr. Adler sitting on Grace’s bed, holding her hand.
“What’s going on?” William asked as he stared in at them. Dr. Adler stood up and walked to the door.
“Ah William, let’s step out,” she said quietly to him. She placed her hand on his arm and they stepped out into the hallway.
“So...?” William asked his eyes still fixed on Grace.
“Well… William. I'm not going to say that I haven't seen it before, but we had something happen with Grace last night,” she said. William looked at her and tilted his head.
“Okay…? Not to be rude, but could you...” he said. She grinned at him.
“Yes, yes, no alarm,” she said then continued. “See the nurse was making her rounds for the evening, and she stopped in to see Grace last night. She called me right away, you see Grace turned to her and spoke.” William’s eyes brightened up.
“Oh my god... really? Well… what did she...” he reached towards Dr. Adler and touched her arm. Dr Adler looked down at his hand and placed her hand on his.
“Now William... I'm not making any promises but I'm not going to say that this isn't a step in the right direction.”
“A step in the right direction? Jesus Christ, she hasn't said a word for a year… I would call this a huge step in the...” Dr. Adler squeezed his hand.
“Now listen William, I just don't want to predict any outcome from this, and she has not spoken a word to me.” William looked into her eyes, searching for more news.
“Well what did she say?” he said as he looked at Grace again.
“Like I said, the nurse told me she said one word…” Dr. Adler said to him. William straightened up in front of her and cleared his throat.
“What?” he said.
“She said ‘Rue’, William... just ‘Rue’.”
William looked past Dr. Adler towards Grace.
“Do you think I could have some time alone with her?” he said.
“Oh, yes. Like I said, she only said one word, William; I can't say you'll get anything.”
“It's okay,” William said as he grinned at her.
“Alright then, I'll stop in later on, if you need anything...”
“I'll call you if I do.” William said, as Dr. Adler walked down the hallway.
William stepped into the room, locking the door behind him. He walked over to the window, staring out for a moment, then back to Grace. She was propped up in the bed looking off into nothing. William came over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Gracie?” he said as he looked at her face. Nothing.
“Gracie? What are you trying to tell me?” he whispered.
Will held her hand. “Listen Grace, I didn't want to have to do this... but I need to know what you’re trying to tell me… if you can't tell me I have to. Please forgive me.”
Grace sat still not responding. He shot up grabbing the end of her bed and pulled it away from the wall, stopping in the middle of the room. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of chalk, and started scribbling elaborate symbols all around her bed on the floor. He stood up tossing the chalk aside and rolled up his sleeves. Placing his arms in front of him he closed his eyes and started to concentrate. Slowly a blue orb started to form in between his hands. He started chanting words and with each one he spoke the orb grew bigger and brighter in color. Blue sparks started to fly off of the spinning mass and with an exhaustive push he threw it at Grace engulfing her in blue and white flame. Grace sucked in her breath and lifted off of the bed hovering above it. Wind was swirling around in the room like a hurricane.
William yelled at her, “What d
o you need to tell me Grace?!”
Grace looked back at him.
“Rue... Danger... William!”
“From what Gracie…? From who?” William yelled out.
Grace started to scream.
“Grace I have to know…! I don't know how long I can do this, how long you can survive it!”
Grace screamed out and everything went into slow motion. She rose up mid-air looking as if she was under water and looked William in the eye…
“Caine,” she whispered.
At that moment the blue flames shot out from her, knocking William across the room, in midair he vanished and she dropped down on the bed… eyes closed.
***
I could smell the bacon. I hoped Kai hadn't mutilated it, but after seeing the concern on his face I decided my best bet was to graciously accept his post birthday offering. I began to roll out of bed and realized I was sore, mainly my left arm. I pushed up my sleeve and noticed a bruise, close to my elbow. I must have hit it on the floor last night. I ran my hand over it, wincing, and then noticed that I had a faint bruising around my wrist.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
I quickly decided this was just one thing, in a string of things, I had to figure out and I went downstairs.
Kai had not waited to eat. Big surprise. I swear, even though he was only a year older than me, he ate 10 times as fast and 10 times more. The previous summer he had grown from 5'4' to 5'9'. The doctors told our parents that it was a normal growth spurt for a boy his age but I thought it was circus freak worthy.
“Better get some,” Kai said.
I looked at the table that was packed with breakfast goodies.
“Wow. You out did yourself this time... huh?” I said as I smiled at him.
“Oh it's part two of your b-day,” Kai said.
I kinda looked at him with a ‘what was part one?’ look. Then I remembered the little red box he had handed to me last night.
“Ohhh… Kai… geez, I don't remember where I put your gift…” I said.
“No prob…” He tossed the box to me... I barely caught it.
“I picked it up off the floor when we were leavin.” Kai said as he shoved food into his mouth.